The Market Theatre is now heading in a new and revolutionary direction with their stage productions. Artistic director James Ngcobo plans to commission various productions that will be staged in South Africa’s other official languages, to celebrate and tap into this wider cultural pool and deliver theatre that appeals to diverse backgrounds.
To kick off the run of productions in other official South African languages, Lepatata will be on stage in The Barney Simon Theatre at The Market Theatre from 14 August.
Lepatata deals with the events that occurred after the battle between the Batlhaping and the Khoikhoi and Boer alliance. What makes this show even more interesting is that it is written and performed in Setswana only. Historically, what is now called Gauteng was the cradle of the Batswana people, so the production could not be more relevant to the history of this area.
This production shows how the theatre is moving towards reaching the goals that they’ve envisioned for theatre that speaks to new audiences and, therefore, makes stage productions more accessible to the multi-cultural nation.
Lepatata, which means ‘a blaring horn’, was commissioned after the great success of the Afrikaans production As Die Broek Pas – the first fully Afrikaans production to be staged at The Market Theatre in 20 years.
The Market Theatre, in collaboration with the Windybrow Theatre, will embark on this new trajectory to showcase indigenous theatre and to strengthen their role as vital cultural institutions in South Africa.
The opening of the stage production, written by well-known playwright Moagi Modise, will take place on 14 August at 8:15pm.
Details: markettheatre.co.za
Have you ever watched a production that was produced entirely in one language that is not English? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
